Red Sox’ Garrett Whitlock heading to injured reserve

The good news for the Red Sox? Rafael Devers was back in the lineup Wednesday despite suffering an injury the night before.

The bad news? Boston’s starting rotation has suffered another blow due to the injury bug.

Speaking before Boston’s game against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, manager Alex Cora announced that right-hander Garrett Whitlock was headed to the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. The 27-year-old starter left Tuesday’s eventual loss to Cleveland after throwing just 54 pitches in four innings of work.

“I hope he comes back as soon as possible,” Cora said, according to Greg Dudek of NESN. “We just have to be smart.”

Injuries plagued Whitlock last season, with the talented pitcher landing on the IL three times during the 2023 campaign. Given that his current illness is only considered a “mild” strain according to Cora, Whitlock has first wanted to try to overcome this injury.

“This one (is) not difficult,” Cora said. “Actually, he’s kind of struggling because of it. I said to myself, “You don’t have to prove to people that you can stay healthy, because that’s our responsibility.” » In fact, we take it out of his hands. It’s early enough that it doesn’t make sense to push him, so something worse could happen.

Whitlock is off to a hot start this season, going 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 1.145 WHIP in 18.1 innings of work.

The Red Sox already lost right-hander Lucas Giolito for the entire season after he underwent surgery to repair a torn UCL during spring training, while Nick Pivetta was placed on the 15-day IL week. last due to tension in the right elbow flexor.

As for Devers, Cora said the star third baseman didn’t suffer a scare until he left Tuesday’s game in the eighth inning because of knee discomfort.

“They tested him yesterday and he said he felt it on that play (on the field), so they checked it,” Cora said, according to Dudek. “This morning he texted (head athletic trainer) Brandon (Henry), ‘I’m ready to go.’ We monitor him and everything. It looks bad, he just got scared. Let’s hope that’s the case. We will take care of him.

Devers was the designated hitter for Boston’s game against Cleveland on Wednesday, with the 27-year-old looking to get back on track after hitting just .205 to start the new season.

“If he says he can play, he can play,” Cora said of Devers. “The imaging was in case he needed something, just to make sure where we were, but he didn’t need it. He’s ready to go.